Chapter 59 - Revelations

“Woohoo!!!” Khutulun shouted in surprise and excitement as we rode through the land at a speed that would have been impossible for any other means of transportation.

Magic was, indeed, a miraculous thing.

We were currently “riding” my earth dragons as they floated five feet over the ground. The most beautiful thing was their speed. I didn’t know exactly how fast we were going, except for the wind whistling in our ears, and pulling our lips backward.

Twenty minutes into our journey I stopped to create helmets with windshields made of ice for the three of us so that we could enjoy the speed.

Khutulun was the first to appreciate it, and, despite his lack of initial response, I knew the General was enjoying the ride too.

We stopped mid-afternoon to stretch our legs and eat something. We were at least 200 miles away from our parting stop but had yet to find anyone. Khutulun spotted horse tracks along the way, but no sign of any of the tribes.

“We move often and fast to avoid the patrols. We took our time learning their routines, and now they’re paying the price.” She explained after I conveyed Fei’s question about them being unable to spot them until it was too late. “It is easy when you’re used to living in nature, predictability leads to death. Only the strongest or the most devious survive.”

I nodded in agreement and translated for Fei who sighed “We have created routines to make the work of patrolling the enormous borders of the Empire a bit easier… it seems we were wrong.”

“There is nothing wrong with having a routine, the problem is when you let said routine dull your senses” I mused out loud, biting into a strip of dried meat that Khutulun had shared with me. It was almost like a salty chewing gum. I sent a smile her way and spotted the happiness in her eyes.

‘I’m promised to Bai Fan, why am I flirting with this girl? And why aren’t you saying anything against her?’

‘She is a warrior who has the potential to become a cultivator. It is unlikely she will get far since this is one of her first reincarnations, but it will serve her for the rest of her existence. It will also serve as practice for us.’

‘Practice for what?’

‘For teaching others. One of the ways to reach enlightenment faster is to teach others what you know. From their experiences and yours with them, you will learn much more than you teach.’

‘It sounds as if you want to create a school.’

‘While I’m not against it, I was simply thinking of our future family. There aren’t enough proper cultivators. It is something we should rectify.’

‘What about Bai Fan?’

‘What about her? She is simply an alternative, especially since you wanted to avoid the princess at all costs.’

‘She will be quite mad if she finds out I’ve managed to find myself another interested party.’

‘Why should we care what that mortal thinks of us? She is of no consequence and will die when her time is due. We, however, will live longer than she and many others, until we beat the thirty-three gates and ascend to our rightful place.’

‘I refuse to use her and then discard her.’

‘That is your prerogative. I am simply looking out for our best interest.’

I shook my head at that and continued chewing, noticing that Khutulun was eyeing me out in interest.

“What?” I asked after a few moments. Fei had wandered away to relieve himself, so we were alone for the moment.

“My lord, you seem… torn.”

I raised an eyebrow at her perceptiveness. “I was communing with my spirit about…. us” I gestured to her and me.

“Oh, and what does Tngri has to say about that?” she sat closer to me and gazed up at my eyes. Even with half her face covered, her eyes were bright with emotion.

“He likes you and wishes for me to teach you the way of the cultivators.”

Her eyes sparkled “It would be my honor, but we should wait until this conflict is resolved and our lands are prospering again.”

“You are, of course, right.” I smiled ruefully at her and her fingers lightly caressed mine, without looking away from my eyes.

“My lord Tngri” she leaned toward my face, and despite my reticence, I didn’t fight the attraction between us, leaning forward too.

She deftly dislodged her mask and leaned in to steal a kiss from my lips. I smiled and looked around briefly, before grabbing her by the back of her neck and kissing her thoroughly.

With our lips locked and our tongues battling for supremacy, we were caught completely by surprise by a light cough. I lifted my face to find Fei blushing and looking down.

“Forgive me your, highness.” He scratched his head awkwardly “I wasn’t aware that you enjoyed the company of men that way.”

I blushed but couldn’t help but laugh to which Fei sent an odd look my way, Khutulun asked me what was wrong, and I told her, which made her frown.

Before I could stop her, she turned to glare at Fei with her mask off. She then shouted right in his face “MY LORD IS NOT LIKE THAT, YOU MORON!” she stormed away, placing back her mask.

I sighed and thanked my stars that they didn’t speak the same language. Unfortunately, the sentiment behind her words was unmistakable, and Fei watched her go with an open mouth.

“He- he- he’s…”

I waited until he found his voice again.

“Forgive me, your majesty. But he has a very feminine face…. No wonder…” he pointed to me and her.

I chuckled, “That, General Fei, is where you’re wrong.” I didn’t see a point in hiding her identity anymore, since she had shown the man her face. I couldn’t help but wonder why, however. “Khutulun is a woman.”

I smiled at his surprised face. When he eventually processed the information, he frowned “your majesty, women are not supposed to fight! No wonder we’ve always deemed these people as savages-”

He must have felt my glare, for he fell silent and bowed respectfully.

“You will keep those kinds of thoughts to yourself in this matter, general. You know nothing of her circumstances or the culture of their people. Be very careful who you call a savage… especially around me.”

“Yes, your majesty. Forgive this official for his crude words.”

“I will not forgive you, but I will let it pass this time. And remember General, peace hinges on our ability to understand others, you shouldn’t let your prejudices stop us.” I left him kneeling on the ground before following Khutulun.

He kowtowed “It as his majesty says.”

Well, at least there were some benefits to being a part of the royal family.

Perhaps one day they’d hear me out because I was wise, not because I was royalty.

But that’s another story for another time.